


The Princess and the Cowboy- The River and the Meadow

by c00kie



Series: The Princess and the Cowboy [1]
Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Western, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-15 03:23:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4591134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c00kie/pseuds/c00kie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which they stop by the river for the night and Ben continues to deny his feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Princess and the Cowboy- The River and the Meadow

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a series of segments from a romance novel style series about a black hat cowboy and the woman he chooses to love. originally on tumblr

They end up stopping near the river. Ben leads the horses to the water so they can drink, while Leslie goes about gathering firewood. He watches her, trying hard not to look at her backside when she bends over. Despite all of Ms. Knope’s terrible qualities, she does have some that are admirable. 

Her backside being one of them. 

She stands and turns, allowing him to see her other good qualities. She glares and he coughs, turning away. 

He leads the horses back to her, tying them to a tree. Leslie goes to hers and rubs his shoulder, taking an apple out of her satchel to feed him. 

“You’re going to spoil him.” 

“You’re just jealous I like him and not you,” Leslie counters, rubbing Sebastian’s neck. He whinnies in return. 

Ben feeds his own horse some hay, knowing that later, Leslie will sneak her a carrot. 

When Leslie is done feeding Sebastian and praising him for being “the most magnificent horse in the world,” she goes over to the fire to warm her hands. Ben follows her, sitting across from her on his own log. 

“What’s for supper?” 

“I don’t know about you, but I plan on eating some jerky.” 

She makes a face, her nose scrunching. “That’s all you ever eat.”

“It’s easy and it keeps. Sorry this wasn’t the fine dining experience you dreamt of having, Ms. Knope.”

“You’re such a jerk,” she mutters, standing to her feet. “Give me your rifle.”

“I’m not handing you a loaded weapon.” 

Leslie rolls her eyes. “I’m not going to shoot you. I’m going to go hunt.” 

Ben looks around. There are no signs of wildlife anywhere near by. No birds, no deer, not even a raccoon. “What exactly?” 

She just smiles, another one of her better qualities and takes his gun. 

She comes back with four fish. 

It’s hard not to be impressed. The truth is, he is impressed by her. Even if she is the most stubborn woman on God’s earth and he regrets the day he agreed to go on this journey with her. 

He has to admit the fish is pretty good too, once he digs the bullet out. 

 

It’s late in the night, the fire is almost out and there’s nothing but dark skies lit by billions of stars, but Ben can’t sleep, not when Leslie keeps tossing and turning. 

“Ben?”

“What?” God he wishes he had a bed right now. 

“I’m cold.” 

He closes his eyes, regretting what he’s about to do. “Fine. Come here.” 

It takes Leslie a moment to come to him, her dress rustling as she moves, but soon she’s lying next to him. 

“This is not an invitation to touch me in a solicitous fashion.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Ben replies, wrapping his arm around her, careful to keep his hand on her back, and not lower. 

He closes his eyes, but now he can smell her and while she mostly smells like dirt and horse and sweat, there’s something underneath that’s actually rather pleasant. 

He puts it on the list of her good qualities. 

“I’m sorry I called you a jerk.” 

“Don’t mention it.” He wishes she would sleep. Her breath is on his skin and it’s difficult not to react. 

“Really, I was out of line-”

“Leslie, please. I am trying to sleep.” 

“Sorry,” she says, quieter but he can still feel her breath and the damage is done. “I didn’t- what is that?”

“My pistol,” Ben lies. 

Leslie says nothing and for a moment, Ben thinks maybe she believes him, but then her hand travels down and touches him, making him let go of her and put as much distance between himself and her as he can. 

She stands up, coming close to him, smiling. There’s no where he can run. He certainly can’t leave her here. (Even if she would probably be fine, a little voice inside his head tells him.) 

“That is not a gun.” 

He stares at her for what feels like a lifetime. She stares back, and even though he can’t truly see her eyes in the dark, Ben knows they’re bright blue and sparkling. 

Her list of good qualities keeps growing. 

“It’s okay,” she says, “I am aware that you men have urges. I have them too.”

“It’s not-” 

“Being close to a woman must make you feel things,” Leslie says, “and I know it’s lonely out here. I’m lonely too.” 

He says nothing. 

“You can kiss me. If you want.” 

“What I want, Ms. Knope, is to sleep.” It’s a lie. What he wants is her. All of her. 

“Very well,” Leslie says, but he can hear her smile. “Let’s sleep.” 

 

She’s up before him, having brushed and fed the horses and made breakfast from eggs he doesn’t know where she got them from. She’s smiling, singing to herself like she’s some princess in a fairy tale. 

Leslie Knope is a princess. A princess who can hunt and can throw a good punch and is surprisingly good at poker. 

Ben is just a black hat cowboy with a dark past he would rather forget. 

There’s no way she should want him to kiss her. 

“I need to wash up and change.” 

“Hurry,” Ben says, “We’re late as it is.” 

“You’re very punctual,” she says, and he thinks it might be a compliment, the first one she’s given him since they met. 

He makes a point not to look at her while she’s undressed. 

Eventually, they’re back on their horses, riding at a steady pace. He wanted to get to Dodge City by nightfall, so they could sleep in actual beds and in separate rooms, but as the sun begins to set, he knows they’re not going to make it. 

“Damn.”

“Can we stop somewhere else?” 

“I thought you liked meadows.” 

“I do. But I hate bees and they’re everywhere. Crap on a spoon!” 

Her outburst makes him startle. “What is it?”

“I was stung.” 

Ben stops Coconut and hops off. “Let me see.”

“I’m fine,” she says through gritted teeth. “Ow!”

“Let me see,” he says, softer this time, but with more insistence. She gets off Sebastian and who wanders off to Coconut and starts eating the flowers with her. 

“Shouldn’t you tie them-”

“They’ll be okay,” Ben says holding her hand up so he can remove the stinger. “Close your eyes and count to three.” 

She squeezes her eyes shut. “One, two, ow you bastard!” 

Ben throws the stinger to the ground. “You’ll be okay.”

“I don’t like you.”

He smiles back, wishing to heaven she wasn’t so pretty. “Feeling’s mutual.”


End file.
